Neighbors upset with Castilleja's plans to reduce enrollment

By Jason Green

Daily News Staff Writer

Posted:
11/08/2013 11:47:40 PM PST

Updated:
11/13/2013 04:01:01 PM PST

Neighbors of Castilleja, a private school for girls in Palo Alto, are unhappy with its response to a city directive to reduce enrollment. They want quicker results and say harsher penalties may be warranted.

The city determined in September that Castilleja, located at 1310 Bryant St., had violated a 2000 conditional-use permit that capped the number of students at 415. Enrollment for the 2013-14 academic year stands at 448.

The school was told to submit a plan to reduce its enrollment to 415 students, as well as pay a fine and put a transportation demand management program in place to address traffic and parking concerns.

In an Oct. 25 memo to Palo Alto advance planning manager Steven Turner, school head Nanci Kauffman proposed waiting until December 2014 to gauge the success of the transportation demand management program before moving forward with any reduction in enrollment.

The program is supposed to reduce impacts to the equivalent of 385 students -- a requirement spelled out in the permit.

If it doesn't work, Castilleja would reduce its student population to 415 by the 2018-19 academic year, Kauffman wrote. But if it does work, the school would apply for an amended conditional-use permit.

The memo has rankled neighbors, who say the increase in students has resulted in more traffic and less parking. Some residents have even reported finding their driveways blocked by the cars of parents waiting to pick up their children.

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Stan Shore said there is consensus in the neighborhood that Castilleja should comply with the city's order -- and quickly.

"None of the neighbors are anti-Castilleja," Shore wrote in an email to Turner on behalf of his neighbors Friday.

"Castilleja has been in the neighborhood many years before most of us have been in this neighborhood. We are all happy with Castilleja as long as it is in compliance with the approved 2000 CUP. The majority of the neighbors simply want the school to be in compliance with the CUP. We would prefer the city avoid the uncomfortable issue of assessing fines and simply demand that the school's enrollment be in compliance as of September 2014."

Castilleja was initially fined $300,000, but the amount was reduced to $256,000 following discussions between the city and school about the formula used to assess the penalty. The school essentially had to pay $500 for every "instructional day" it was over the cap for the past three years.

Shore said the city should revoke Castilleja's permit if it cannot reduce its enrollment by next year. But if the city elects to grant the school more time, progressively higher fines should be assessed, he added.

"Can Castilleja afford a stiffer penalty? You bet it can!" Shore wrote in the email to Turner. He pointed to federal tax returns that show the school has net assets of roughly $79.2 million.

Turner did not respond to a request for comment but he indicated in a recent email to Shore that Kauffman's proposal is still under review.

Meanwhile, Castilleja spokeswoman Dana Sundblad said the school has already rolled out the required transportation demand management program. It includes free shuttles and carpool campaigns.

"The city of Palo Alto will determine Castilleja's final TDM plan and enrollment reduction plan," Sundblad wrote in an email to The Daily News. "Castilleja has submitted our proposals, which the board of trustees feels are a responsible approach to our next steps, but until we hear back from the city of Palo Alto, we feel it is premature to comment further."